Contents

The CSA includes the vast geographic diversity of the traditional nine-county region, composed of at least six terranes (continental, seabed, or island arc fragments with distinct characteristics) pushed together over many millions of years by the forces of plate tectonics. These landscapes range from cool foggy mountains and temperate forests on the San Francisco Peninsula and Marin County, to the semi-arid, near-desert terrain in the easternmost portions of the East Bay.

In 2016 the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland CSA had a GDP of $820.9 billion, which would rank 17th among countries and 5th among states.[6] Among Combined Statistical Areas, the Bay Area is 5th in terms of population, but 3rd in terms of GDP. Silicon Valley, the leading high technology region in the world, is located in Santa Clara County. Major corporations in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and the surrounding cities help make the region second in the nation in concentration of Fortune 500 companies, after New York.[10] The Bay Area's northern counties encompass California's famous Wine Country, home to hundreds of vineyards and wineries. San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties extend the area's agriculture and wine-producing areas.

As more people move further inland in search of larger and cheaper homes, urban planner and academic Wendell Cox wrote that the Office of Management and Budget could add Stanislaus County to the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland CSA in the future.[12]

^Cox, Wendall (February 5, 2014). "The Evolving Urban Form: The San Francisco Bay Area". newgeography.com. Retrieved July 30, 2014. It seems much growth that might have occurred in the original San Francisco metropolitan area or the later developing San Jose metropolitan area will instead occur in the Vallejo or Stockton metropolitan areas, where housing prices tend to be much lower, particularly for larger homes that are increasingly unaffordable closer to the urban core. Indeed, it is not impossible that Modesto (Stanislaus County) could be added to the San Francisco Bay CSA by 2020